* * *
So now they were sitting across from each other.
Seeing Haebom’s obvious awkwardness made annoyance bubble up inside him.
He clings to me all the time, but now he’s uncomfortable just eating cake with me?
Then, suddenly, he realized—despite living together for over two weeks, they had never eaten a single meal together.
He had taken Haebom in, yet…
Even Wonho had to admit that was a little much.
But the moment Haebom mentioned his birthday, all those complicated thoughts disappeared.
My birthday?
It wasn’t something he had even considered.
Had it really been his birthday?
He hadn’t thought about it in years.
Back when his life had been consumed by the agony of runaway Esper abilities, he had completely given up on things like birthdays—on life itself.
Now, with the threat of losing control gone, he no longer wanted to throw his life away.
But remembering his own birthday?
That was another matter entirely.
“…Isn’t it your birthday? I mean, it says here—”
“…Yeah. It is.”
Haebom reached out, about to tap the screen to show Wonho’s personal information, but before he could, Wonho spoke first.
At Wonho’s confirmation, Haebom beamed and nodded enthusiastically.
Then, he placed candles on the cake, matching Wonho’s age, and lit them.
Wonho stared at the flickering flames.
As an esper with ice abilities, fire was the thing Wonho disliked the most.
On top of that, since Nahyeonjun was a fire esper, his aversion to fire had only grown.
But strangely enough, the small flames atop the chocolate cake didn’t feel unpleasant.
Maybe it was Haebom who was making him feel this way.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, la-la-la, happy birthday to Wonho~”
Since he had lit the candles, singing the birthday song was a given, right?
Haebom didn’t hesitate for long. He clapped along enthusiastically as he sang for Wonho.
Of course, when it came to the “I love you” part, he mumbled through it awkwardly.
As he slurred the lyrics, his ears burned with embarrassment.
To make matters worse, Wonho—who usually avoided eye contact whenever Haebom looked his way—was staring straight at him as he sang.
It wasn’t like the song was long enough to judge someone’s singing skills, but the way Wonho watched him made it feel like he was being evaluated.
“W-Wonho! Hurry up and blow out the candles before they melt!”
At Haebom’s urging, Wonho pursed his lips slightly and blew.
With just a soft breath, the flames disappeared in an instant.
He barely put any effort into it, but perhaps because he was an esper, even that was enough.
Haebom, trying to ignore the heat lingering in his ears from embarrassment, quickly changed his focus.
“Alright, let’s eat now. Your birthday might have passed, but happy belated birthday!”
As Haebom handed him a fork, Wonho found himself wondering—was he just kind, or was he an idiot? Or maybe both?
It wasn’t like Wonho had ever been nice to him.
He had snapped at him, cursed at him, never even called him by his name, let alone treated him like a person.
And yet, here Haebom was, celebrating his birthday as if nothing had happened.
The guy was the type to smile even if someone robbed him blind.
Technically, Haebom did receive a salary from the Center, but he never got so much as a thank-you in return.
Instead, he was constantly drained for guiding.
Though, to be fair, it wasn’t like Wonho received much guiding to begin with—but still, that’s how he saw it.
And yet, Haebom kept smiling like it was no big deal… Was he just naturally this shameless?
“Aren’t you eating?”
“…I will. Just focus on your own food.”
Haebom scrunched his nose at Wonho’s frown.
What was his problem now?
He seemed fine one moment, then suddenly got all prickly again.
With a shake of his head, Haebom stabbed his fork into the chocolate cake and stuffed a bite into his mouth.
Technically, Haebom was the one who bought the cake, but he had prepared it for Wonho, so he had planned to let him eat first.
Yet, that small act of consideration had been completely disregarded.
Haebom wasn’t heartless—he did feel a little annoyed—but as the sweet chocolate melted in his mouth, he couldn’t help the smile that crept onto his lips.
Chewing thoughtfully, Haebom snuck a glance at Wonho.
He didn’t dare stare openly, knowing Wonho would snap at him if he did.
Instead, he stole quick, fleeting glances.
Meanwhile, Wonho, fully aware of Haebom’s gaze, let out a silent sigh.
Did Haebom not realize that looking at him like that only made him more conscious of it?
Eventually, realizing Haebom wouldn’t stop watching until he took a bite, Wonho picked up his fork and stabbed the cake.
It felt oddly soft beneath the utensil.
There was no deep reason why Wonho never ate with Haebom.
Espers, with their heightened senses, experienced food more intensely—the texture, the scent, the taste, everything.
That was why the Center had developed supplements to ensure espers got the necessary nutrients without having to eat regular food.
Moreover, Wonho wasn’t just any esper—he had lived for a long time with his energy wavelengths tangled due to the lack of proper guiding.
That only made him even more sensitive.
For the most part, he relied on pills for nutrition.
Technically, now that Haebom was guiding him, he could eat normal food again, but old habits were hard to break.
So, it had been a long time since he had eaten anything, not just cake.
He put a forkful of chocolate cake into his mouth.
It had been ages since he tasted real food.
And this… this was sweet enough to rot his teeth.
“Hey… Where are you going?”
“Huh?”
Wonho was standing at the top of the stairs.
Or rather, he was on the second floor, looking down at Haebom.
Since the living room had an open ceiling, it wasn’t difficult to do so.
Haebom had assumed Wonho would’ve gone out while he was showering.
But instead of leaving, Wonho just stood there, silently watching him.
Wonho had just returned from the gate.
Unless there was an urgent matter, he had no reason to go out today.
The same went for Haebom, his Pair.
They were supposed to spend the next day in a state where they wouldn’t even be able to move due to guiding—but that wasn’t Wonho’s concern.
He hadn’t planned on speaking to Haebom.
But now that he had, and saw Haebom’s startled expression, his mood soured.
Wonho ignored the way he’d been treating Haebom all this time and immediately placed the blame on him.
“I asked where you’re going.”
Caught off guard by Wonho’s sudden question, Haebom blinked before quickly answering.
“Oh! I’m going to the Center.”
“The Center?”
“Yeah! I’ll be back soon!”
* * *
